Keeping Track of Company Property
Being an employer, you provide your employees with the tools they need to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. With more and more technological gadgets coming out, your employees likely have a fortune of company assets in their possession. Even though most employees are honest and ethical, you should keep track of your company’s belongings on a consistent basis.
As an employee leasing company, PEP can help you handle situations with your employees and the property you provide for their jobs. Please call us for a consultation at 1-800-650-3002.
Depending on your business, your employees could have more company possessions than you realize. Many employees have keys, promotional materials, and other corporate documents. Office workers and salespeople might be given a PDA, cell phone, software, and laptop. Technicians in the field often have a company vehicle and carry the most expensive items, sometimes worth several hundred thousand dollars.
Upon acceptance of employment, some companies ask their new employees to sign an agreement regarding company property. The agreement requires employees to acknowledge the items they have in their possession, and tells employees they must return the equipment upon demand. The company could demand its property back for many reasons. The most obvious reason would be when the employee is transferred to another position or leaves the company, but you also would want your equipment back for repairs, changes, and upgrades.
The agreement with your employees can stipulate that, if the equipment or materials are not returned upon demand, the employee will be charged for replacing them. An employee can be charged through an invoice to his or her home, or the charge could come out of a paycheck. There are legalities, however, to deducting pay from paychecks. Consult with PEP regarding what the law says about charging employees for lost or damaged materials.
Other ways to protect your company property include:
- Background checks of employees before they are hired
- Past employment verification and reference checks
- Drug screenings (substance abusers are more prone to theft and fraud)
- Regular audits and inventories of company property
- Letting employees know that the company is actively protecting its possessions through supervision, monitoring systems, and other theft deterrents
